Antenna array with integrated filters

ABSTRACT

An exemplary antenna system has first and second antenna elements, where a diplexer is connected to each second element. First phase shifters are connected to the first elements and to the diplexers, and second phase shifters are connected to the diplexers, but not to the first elements. Either a different bandpass filter is connected to the first and second phase shifters or a single multiplexer is connected to all phase shifters. The antenna system can be used to support communications over first and second sub-bands with independent beam tilts and equivalent beamwidths, where all of the elements are used for the first sub-band, and the second elements, but not the first elements, are used for the second sub-band. Each first element is separated from an adjacent element by a first distance, and each second element is separated from an adjacent element by a second distance different from the first distance.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/475,775, filed on Sep. 3, 2014 and entitled “ANTENNA ARRAY WITHINTEGRATED FILTERS,” which in turn claims the benefit of priority ofU.S. Provisional Application No. 61/986,166, filed on Apr. 30, 2014, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to communications equipment and, morespecifically but not exclusively, to antenna arrays for base stations incellular communications networks.

Description of the Related Art

This section introduces aspects that may help facilitate a betterunderstanding of the invention. Accordingly, the statements of thissection are to be read in this light and are not to be understood asadmissions about what is prior art or what is not prior art.

Many modern base station antennas (BSAs) need to be multi-carrier andmulti-operator and need to support different communication standards anddifferent frequency ranges. One BSA can cover two or more relativelywide frequency bands (e.g., 698 MHz to 960 MHz plus 1710 MHz to 2690MHz). To work with different standards and/or with different operators,a wideband BSA can be integrated with distributed filters.

Antenna arrays with distributed filters are known in the art. See, e.g.,U.S. Pat. No. 6,208,299 B1 (the '299 patent). The advantage of the '299patent is the possibility to obtain the same beamwidth for differentfrequency sub-bands. But the '299 patent does not allow independent beamtilt (or beam scanning) for its different sub-bands.

Antennas with distributed filters and independent (phased-array) beamtilt for each sub-band are known in the market. See, e.g., the Type No.80010668 BSA with Adjustable Electronic Downtilt unit from Kathrein ofRosenheim, Germany.

FIG. 1 shows a simplified block diagram of a prior-art four-elementantenna system 100 for supporting communications in two differentsub-bands f1 and f2 with independent beam tilt. Independent beam tilt isprovided by two phase shifter networks PS1, PS2, combining phaseshifters and power dividers. Note that each sub-band may have differentfrequency ranges within the sub-band for uplink and downlinktransmissions. Each antenna element 102 has its own nearby, dedicatedcavity diplexer CD that combines downlink (i.e., outgoing) signals forthe two different sub-bands for transmission from the correspondingantenna element 102 and separates uplink (i.e., incoming) sub-bandsignals received at the corresponding antenna element 102 forapplication to respective phase shifter networks PS1 and PS2, whichprovide independent beam tilt for the two sub-bands f1 and f2. Themulti-cavity diplexers, connected to antenna elements 102 and phaseshifter networks PS1, PS2, are used to get desirable inter-band (e.g.,inter-system) isolation greater than about 30 dB between port1 andport2. Unfortunately, multi-cavity diplexers are expensive and canrepresent about 80% of the total antenna system cost.

Another disadvantage of prior-art antenna system 100 of FIG. 1 is thatdifferent sub-bands (having different frequencies) will have differentbeamwidths, because antenna beamwidth is in inverse proportion tofrequency. In some cases, the beamwidths for higher-frequency wirelessbands (for example, for 2.6 GHz or 3.5 GHz) become too narrow and cannotilluminate the required geographic zone. As a result, there can be alimit on the minimal-elevation beamwidth (e.g., the half-power beamwidthcannot be less than 4.5 degrees). On another hand, if the beamwidth ofan antenna is too wide, then there can be too much interference withother cells. The unwanted signals reduce the signal-to-noise ratio,forcing the use of fewer efficient transmission modulations (from 64 QAMto 8 QAM or even worse QSPK) in areas where the signal-to-noise ratio isnot big enough.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other embodiments of the invention will become more fully apparent fromthe following detailed description, the appended claims, and theaccompanying drawings in which like reference numerals identify similaror identical elements.

FIG. 1 shows a simplified block diagram of a prior-art four-elementantenna system that supports communications in two different sub-bands;

FIG. 2 shows a simplified block diagram of an exemplary seven-elementantenna system of this disclosure that supports communications in twodifferent sub-bands;

FIG. 3 shows a simplified block diagram of another exemplaryseven-element antenna system of this disclosure that supportscommunications in two different sub-bands;

FIG. 4 shows a simplified block diagram of an exemplary seven-elementantenna system of this disclosure that supports communications in threedifferent sub-bands; and

FIG. 5 shows a simplified layout block diagram of an exemplary antennasystem having a two-dimensional array of antenna elements arranged intotwo concentric groups that supports communications in two differentsub-bands.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 2 shows a simplified block diagram of an exemplary seven-elementantenna system 200 of this disclosure that supports communications intwo different (frequency) sub-bands f1 and f2, f2>f1. According to thisparticular embodiment, there are two sets of antenna elements: a firstset containing two relatively narrow-band elements A1 and a second setcontaining five relatively wide-band elements A2. Each relativelynarrow-band antenna element A1 is used for only sub-band f1, while eachrelatively wide-band antenna element A2 is used for both sub-bands f1and f2. Each element A1 is separated by a distance d1 from its adjacentelement, while elements A2 are separated from each other by a shorterdistance d2.

As shown in FIG. 2, each element A2 has a nearby diplexing filter D,which can be simpler and cheaper than the cavity diplexers CD of FIG. 1.Those skilled in the art will understand that a diplexing filter (akadiplexer) separates and/or combines signals of different frequencybands, while a duplexing filter (aka duplexer) keeps transmit (e.g.,downlink) signals separate from receive (e.g., uplink) signals thatshare the same signal path. Note that each diplexing filter D in FIG. 2is also a duplexer, because each antenna element A2 supportssimultaneous uplink and downlink communications.

In particular, each diplexing filter D in FIG. 2 combines downlinksignals and separates uplink signals between the corresponding antennaelement A2 and the respective phase shifter networks PS1 and PS2 withabout 13-15 dB isolation between the two sub-bands. Note that, dependingon the particular implementation, each phase shifter network PS1, PS2may have a different downlink phase shifter and a different uplink phaseshifter (not individually shown in FIG. 2) for each correspondingantenna element, where each phase shifter network functions as a powersplitter for downlink signals and as a power combiner for uplinksignals. Note that, since antenna elements A1 handle only sub-band f1signals, there are no diplexing filters for those antenna elements. Notefurther that phase shifter network PS1 is connected to all of theantenna elements A1 and A2, while phase shifter network PS2 is connectedto only antenna elements A2 (via their respective diplexing filters D).

Lastly, each phase shifter network PS1, PS2 is connected to a respectiveband-pass filter F1, F2 configured to the corresponding sub-band f1, f2.In one implementation, band-pass filter F1 passes signals in sub-band f1and attenuates signals in sub-band f2 by about 30 dB, and analogouslyfor band-pass filter F2 and sub-bands f2 and f1.

In antenna system 200, independent beam tilt is provided by usingdifferent phase shifter networks PS1 and PS2 for sub-bands f1 and f2.The same or similar beamwidth for both sub-bands f1, f2 is provided byusing different numbers of antenna elements for the two sub-bands anddifferent spacing (d1, d2, d1>d2) between the antenna elements. If theelectrical lengths (in wavelengths) of (i) the antenna array containingelements A1 plus A2 and (ii) the array containing only elements A2 arethe same, then the beamwidths for sub-bands f1 and f2 will be the same,even if the physical lengths are different.

For example, the most-desirable elevation beamwidth for DCS, IMT, andLTE2.6 bands in Europe is 6-7 degrees. This case can be realized inaccordance with FIG. 2 by employing ten elements A2 with d2=105 mm andfour elements A1 (two on each side of the ten elements A2) with d1=140mm. Beamwidths for this case are 6.6° for 1.71 GHz-1.88 GHz (DCS band)and 6.6° for 2.49 GHz-2.69 GHz (LTE2.6 band); i.e., the antennabeamwidth is the same for both sub-bands. If the prior-art solution ofFIG. 1 is used, then the beamwidths can have a big difference: 6.6° forDCS and 3.5° for LTE2.6 (too narrow, because >4.5° is needed).Furthermore, the cost of the prior-art antenna system will be much more.

By proper selection of the number, spacing, and beamwidths of elementsA1 and A2, the sub-band beamwidths can be optimized not only in theelevation plane, but also in the azimuth plane. For elements A1, highlydirective radiators can be used (e.g., Yagi style radiators) to keep thenumber of elements A1 relatively small and also provide a relativelynarrow azimuth beamwidth (e.g., close to 60-65 degrees), which usuallyis desired (and not achieved with relatively wideband elements A2, whichusually have an azimuth beamwidth of about 70 degrees at lowerfrequency).

Cost reduction can be obtained by using relatively simple/low-costdiplexing filters D near elements A2 (with relatively low isolationlevel 13-15 dB) instead of the more-expensive cavity diplexers CD ofFIG. 1 (with high isolation of about 30 dB). 13-15 dB isolation betweensub-bands f1, f2 is good enough to achieve a satisfactory level ofinsertion loss (0.1-0.2 dB, due to coupling). The desired high level ofisolation between Port 1 and Port 2 (>30-40 dB) is obtained by twohigh-quality band-pass filters F1, F2. So, instead of one high-costfilter per antenna element, e.g., cavity diplexing filters CD of FIG. 1,only one high-cost filter is used for each sub-band, e.g., high-qualityband-pass filters F1, F2, no matter how many antenna elements there are.Also, the quantity of diplexers D is reduced, because diplexers do notneed to be connected to the elements A1. As a result, the cost ofantennas can be reduced by 20-60%.

Antenna parameters (such as return loss, gain, cross-polarization) forsub-band f1 also can be potentially improved, because relativelynarrow-band radiating element A1 can be tuned for better performancecompared to relatively wide-band radiating element A2.

In FIG. 2, the set of elements A2 is shown in the central region of thelinear antenna array. This allows a symmetrical amplitude taper for theantenna for both sub-bands. In other embodiments, a group of elements A2can be placed side-by-side with a group of elements A1, for example(without limitation), the sequence (A1, A1, A2, A2, A2, A2, A2) or (A2,A2, A2, A2, A2, A1, A1).

Thus, antenna system 200 of FIG. 2 can be implemented as a low-costantenna with independent beam tilt for different sub-bands with the samebeamwidth for each sub-band. The low cost can be achieved by using fewerand less-expensive diplexers. The same beamwidth for each sub-band canbe achieved by using a different number of elements of each sub-bandwith different spacing. For example, independent beam tilt for DCS band(1.71-1.88 GHz) and LTE2.6 (2.49-2.69 GHz) can be achieved with the sameantenna. As another example, the Digital Dividend 790-862 MHz sub-bandcan be provided with a different beam tilt from the GSM 880-960 MHzsub-band.

FIG. 3 shows a simplified block diagram of another exemplaryseven-element antenna system 300 of this disclosure that supportscommunications in two different sub-bands f1 and f2. Antenna system 300is similar to antenna system 200 of FIG. 2 except that antenna system300 has a diplexing filter D12 instead of the two band-pass filters F1and F2 of FIG. 2. Diplexer D12 can be the same as diplexer D ordifferent. For example, diplexer D12 can be selected to handle highpower, and D can be lower power and lower cost. Using diplexer D12instead of two band-pass filters F1 and F2 can also save money byeliminating one cable (or waveguide) between the antenna system and thebase station transceiver (not shown).

Although the disclosure has been described in the context of antennasystems supporting communications in two sub-bands, in general, antennasystems of the disclosure can be designed to support communications intwo or more sub-bands.

FIG. 4 shows a simplified block diagram of an exemplary seven-elementantenna system 400 of this disclosure that supports communications inthree different sub-bands (e.g., f1=1.7-2.17 GHz, f2=2.49-2.69 GHz, andf3=3.4-3.6 GHz). Antenna system 400 has three sets of antenna elements:a first set containing two elements A1, a second set containing twoelements A2, and a third set of three elements A3. Each narrowest-bandantenna element A1 is used for only sub-band f1 and covers frequenciesof 1.7-2.17 GHz, each intermediate-band antenna element A2 is used forsub-bands f1 and f2 and covers frequencies of 1.7-2.69 GHz, and eachwidest-band antenna element A3 is used for all three sub-bands f1-f3 andcovers frequencies 1.7-3.6 GHz. Each element A1 is separated by distanced1 from its adjacent element A2, each element A2 is separated bydistance d2 from its adjacent element A3, and elements A3 are separatedfrom each other by distance d3, where d1>d2>d3.

As shown in FIG. 4, each element A2 has a nearby diplexing filter D, andeach element A3 has a nearby triplexing filter (aka triplexer) T. Eachdiplexing filter D combines outgoing signals and separates incomingsignals between the corresponding antenna element A2 and the respectivephase shifter networks PS1 and PS2 for sub-bands f1 and f2, while eachdiplexing filter T combines outgoing signals and separates incomingsignals between the corresponding antenna element A3 and the respectivephase shifter networks PS1, PS2, and PS3 for all three sub-bands f1-f3.Note that, since antenna elements A1 handle only sub-band f1 signals,there are no diplexing or triplexing filters for those antenna elements.Note further that phase shifter network PS1 is connected to all of theantenna elements A1, A2, and A3, while phase shifter network PS2 isconnected to only antenna elements A2 (via their respective diplexingfilters D) and A3 (via their respective triplexing filters T), and phaseshifter network PS3 is connected to only antenna elements A3 (via theirrespective triplexing filters T).

Lastly, each phase shifter network PS1, PS2, PS3 is connected to arespective band-pass filter F1, F2, F3 configured to the correspondingsub-band f1, f2, f3. In one implementation, band-pass filter F1 passessignals in sub-band f1 and attenuates signals in sub-bands f2 and f3 byabout 30 dB, and analogously for band-pass filters F2 and F3.

In antenna system 400, independent beam tilt is provided by usingdifferent phase shifter networks PS1, PS2, PS3 for sub-bands f1, f2, f3.The same or similar beamwidth for all three sub-bands is provided byusing different numbers of antenna elements for the three sub-bands anddifferent spacing (d1>d2>d3) between the antenna elements. If theelectrical lengths (in wavelengths) of the three groups of antennaelements A1+A2+A3, A2+A3, and A3 are the same for f1, f2, and f3, thenthe beamwidths for the three sub-bands will be the same, even if thephysical lengths are different.

Analogous to FIG. 3, the three band-pass filters F1-F3 can be replacedby a single triplexing filter (not shown) having a single feed line.

As used herein, the term “multiplexer” or “multiplexing filter” refersgenerally to filters, such as (without limitation) diplexing filters andtriplexing filters, that combine multiple downlink signals havingdifferent frequency ranges for transmission and/or separate multiplereceived uplink signals having different frequency ranges. In thegeneral case, multiplexers with up to N outputs can be used to provideindependent beam tilt for each of N sub-bands with the same beamwidth,where N>1.

Although the disclosure has been described in the context of the linearor one-dimensional antenna (1-D) arrays of FIGS. 2-4, other embodimentsmay have two-dimensional (2-D) antenna arrays.

FIG. 5 shows a simplified layout block diagram of an exemplary antennasystem 500 having a two-dimensional array of antenna elements arrangedinto two concentric element groups: an outer 2-D sub-array 502 ofrelatively narrow-band elements A1 supporting band f1 and an inner 2-Dsub-array 504 of relatively wide-band elements A2 supporting band f1+f2and corresponding diplexers D. 2-D antenna system 500 is analogous to1-D antenna system 200 of FIG. 2, with a diplexer D for each element A2,two groups 506 and 508 of phase shifters, and two band-pass filters F1and F2 for sub-bands f1 and f2, where the phase shifters in group 506are connected to both elements A1 (directly) and elements A2 (via theirdiplexers D), while the phase shifters in group 508 are connected onlyto elements A2 (via their diplexers D).

Two-dimensional antenna system 500 can provide 2-D beam steering in anyavailable directions with the same beamwidth for both sub-bandsindependently. 2-D antenna arrays can also be implemented using adiplexing filter and a single feed line as in FIG. 3. 2-D antenna arrayscan also be extended to three or more sub-bands as in FIG. 4. As with1-D antenna systems, 2-D antenna systems can have layouts other thanthat shown in FIG. 5 (e.g., element groups side-by-side rather thanconcentric).

It should be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that anyblock diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrativecircuitry embodying the principles of the invention.

Unless explicitly stated otherwise, each numerical value and rangeshould be interpreted as being approximate as if the word “about” or“approximately” preceded the value or range.

It will be further understood that various changes in the details,materials, and arrangements of the parts which have been described andillustrated in order to explain embodiments of this invention may bemade by those skilled in the art without departing from embodiments ofthe invention encompassed by the following claims.

In this specification including any claims, the term “each” may be usedto refer to one or more specified characteristics of a plurality ofpreviously recited elements or steps. When used with the open-ended term“comprising,” the recitation of the term “each” does not excludeadditional, unrecited elements or steps. Thus, it will be understoodthat an apparatus may have additional, unrecited elements and a methodmay have additional, unrecited steps, where the additional, unrecitedelements or steps do not have the one or more specified characteristics.

The use of figure numbers and/or figure reference labels in the claimsis intended to identify one or more possible embodiments of the claimedsubject matter in order to facilitate the interpretation of the claims.Such use is not to be construed as necessarily limiting the scope ofthose claims to the embodiments shown in the corresponding figures.

It should be understood that the steps of the exemplary methods setforth herein are not necessarily required to be performed in the orderdescribed, and the order of the steps of such methods should beunderstood to be merely exemplary. Likewise, additional steps may beincluded in such methods, and certain steps may be omitted or combined,in methods consistent with various embodiments of the invention.

Although the elements in the following method claims, if any, arerecited in a particular sequence with corresponding labeling, unless theclaim recitations otherwise imply a particular sequence for implementingsome or all of those elements, those elements are not necessarilyintended to be limited to being implemented in that particular sequence.

Reference herein to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of theinvention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in variousplaces in the specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments necessarilymutually exclusive of other embodiments. The same applies to the term“implementation.”

The embodiments covered by the claims in this application are limited toembodiments that (1) are enabled by this specification and (2)correspond to statutory subject matter. Non-enabled embodiments andembodiments that correspond to non-statutory subject matter areexplicitly disclaimed even if they fall within the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a plurality of first antennaelements configured to operate in a first frequency sub-band; aplurality of second antenna elements configured to operate in the firstfrequency sub-band and a second frequency sub-band, wherein the secondantenna elements are arranged in a linear array, and wherein the firstantenna elements are distributed on first and second ends of the lineararray opposite from each other; a plurality of multiplexing filters,each connected between a respective one of the plurality of secondantenna elements and a first phase shifter network, wherein the firstphase shifter network is connected to each first antenna element and toeach multiplexing filter; a second phase shifter network connected toeach multiplexing filter and isolated from the first antenna elements;and a first diplexer comprising first and second ports respectivelyconnected to the first and second phase shifter networks.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein the multiplexing filters of the plurality ofmultiplexing filters each comprise second diplexers.
 3. The system ofclaim 2, wherein the second diplexers are of a different type than thefirst diplexer.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the first diplexer isconfigured to handle a higher power than any of the second diplexers. 5.The system of claim 1, wherein: each first antenna element is separatedfrom an adjacent antenna element by a first distance; and each secondantenna element is separated from an adjacent antenna element by asecond distance different from the first distance.
 6. The system ofclaim 1, wherein beam tilt for the first frequency sub-band isindependent of beam tilt for the second frequency sub-band.
 7. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein a first azimuth beamwidth for the firstfrequency sub-band is substantially equal to a second azimuth beamwidthfor the second frequency sub-band.
 8. The system of claim 1, whereineach first antenna element has a bandwidth different from a bandwidth ofeach second antenna element.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the firstphase shifter network is connected directly to each first antennaelement without any intervening multiplexing filter.
 10. A systemcomprising: a plurality of first antenna elements configured to operatein a first frequency sub-band; a plurality of second antenna elementsconfigured to operate in the first frequency sub-band and a secondfrequency sub-band; a plurality of third antenna elements configured tooperate in the first frequency sub-band, the second frequency sub-band,and a third frequency sub-band, wherein the third antenna elements arearranged in a linear array, wherein the first antenna elements aredistributed on first and second ends of the linear array opposite fromeach other, wherein the second antenna elements are distributed on thefirst and second ends of the linear array opposite from each other; aplurality of first multiplexers respectively connected to each secondantenna elements; a plurality of second multiplexers respectivelyconnected to each third antenna element; a first phase shifter network,connected to each first antenna element, each first multiplexer, andsecond multiplexer; a second phase shifter network connected to eachfirst multiplexer and to each second multiplexer, and isolated from thefirst antenna elements; a third phase shifter network connected to eachsecond multiplexer, and isolated from each first antenna element andfrom each first multiplexer; and a first triplexer comprising first,second and third ports respectively connected to the first, second, andthird phase shifter networks.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein: eachfirst multiplexer comprises a diplexer; and each second multiplexercomprises a triplexer.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein each secondmultiplexer comprises a triplexer of a different type than the firsttriplexer.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the first triplexer isconfigured to handle a higher signal power than any of the firstmultiplexers or the second multiplexers.
 14. An apparatus comprising: afirst plurality of antenna elements, wherein each antenna element of thefirst plurality of antenna elements supports a first bandwidth thatincludes a first frequency sub-band; a second plurality of antennaelements, wherein each antenna element of the second plurality ofantenna elements supports a second bandwidth greater than the firstbandwidth and that includes the first frequency sub-band and a secondfrequency sub-band that does not overlap the first frequency sub-band; afirst phase shifter network; a second phase shifter network; a pluralityof multiplexers, wherein each multiplexer of the plurality ofmultiplexers is connected between a respective antenna element of thesecond plurality of antenna elements the first phase shifter network,and the second phase shifter network; and a diplexer having a first portcoupled to the first phase shifter network and a second port coupled tothe second phase shifter network, wherein the first phase shifternetwork is connected to the multiplexers and to each antenna element ofthe first plurality of antenna elements, wherein the second phaseshifter network is connected to the multiplexers and isolated from thefirst plurality of antenna elements.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14,wherein each antenna element of the first plurality of antenna elementsis more directive than each antenna element of the second plurality ofantenna elements.
 16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the firstplurality of antenna elements and the second plurality of antennaelements are configured to form a first beam having a first frequency inthe first frequency sub-band and having a first azimuth beamwidth, andwherein the second plurality of antenna elements are configured to forma second beam having a second frequency in the second frequency sub-bandand having a second azimuth beamwidth that is greater than the firstazimuth beamwidth.